Archive for » September, 2012 «

Yesterday my daughter got the mail and brought it to me. She was excited to see a letter from the local school system, for some reason she has no fear of letters from school. This particular letter scared me. What was it? It was a general letter sent out to all parents of jr. high and high school students telling them about a new program. This program will provide drills for students in the upcoming weeks. What are the drills?

Ways to evacuate during a crisis situation. These next two stopped my heart.

1. techniques in ways to barricade a classroom when in lockdown

2. tactics that distract, confuse or counter an intruder

I understand there is a need but the fact that we live in a world where this has to be necessary is so freakin’ scary. I pray to God these things are necessary but it is so scary to think it’s possible every day.

Parents know your children, know their friends, know their fears, the things that keep them motivated, that make them happy. I can’t offer any better advice, oh except Love them, respect them, show interest.

Sorry I’m not actually offering you a job, but you and every one that visits businesses are mystery shoppers. I was an actual Mystery Shopper for a couple years. I did reports, I got paid, my picture was probably up in the back of some stores. It’s a really hard job, no seriously, the reports required are ridiculously complicated and your memory has to be extremely good. I digress because this post isn’t about getting a job as a Mystery Shopper but being a good shopper.

I love shows like Bar Rescue, Restaurant Impossible, Hotel Hell, Kitchen Nightmares, and Tabitha Takes Over. I want this job I want to help businesses do better, I want to go in and show them how easy it would be to fix their problems. But really we have that option, not as much fun but so helpful. I’m talking about using sites such as Yelp (my favorite), Google Places or is it Google Local – they changed their name, Foursquare and more. By leaving your reviews you help a business become better or show the rest of the city why they should go there. Businesses should be using these tools, not only reading them but responding to them quickly and politely. But its your job to be honest and not snarky. Look at it as not only helping someone else who is looking for some place to eat or shop but you are perhaps helping a business owner figure out where the problems might be.

My new bud online, John Lemasney, talks a bit about customer service on his recent vlog, click here to watch. Businesses staying in business are not the norm anymore, it’s all about customer service now, reviews can make or break you, your business attitude can make or break you.

Need help, hey you can hire me, I’ll come in be really mean, yell, scream and insult you, (I’m not touching anything icky and if something smells I’m outta there) and then ultimately you’ll see the light of my amazing opinions. Need help getting started using Yelp let me know, be glad to save the day 🙂 sorry I’m in superhero mode.